The Effect of the Protein on Lifespan Depends on GSK3 Expression and Sex.

The microtubule-associated conserved protein tau has attracted significant attention because of its essential role in the formation of pathological changes in the nervous system, which can reduce longevity. The study of the effects caused by tau dysfunction and the molecular mechanisms underlying them is complicated because different forms of tau exist in humans and model organisms, and the changes in protein expression can be multidirectional. In this article, we show that an increase in the expression of the main isoform of the melanogaster tau protein in the nervous system has differing effects on lifespan depending on the sex of individuals but has no effect on the properties of the nervous system, in particular, the synaptic activity and distribution of another microtubule-associated protein, Futsch, in neuromuscular junctions.

Modulated Expression of the Protein Kinase GSK3 in Motor and Dopaminergic Neurons Increases Female Lifespan in .

Most eukaryotic genes express multiple transcripts and proteins, and a sophisticated gene expression strategy plays a crucial role in ensuring the cell-specificity of genetic information and the correctness of phenotypes. The gene encodes several isoforms of the conserved glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3), which is vitally important for multiple biological processes. To characterize the phenotypic effects of differential expression, we explored how the multidirectional modulation of the expression of the main GSK3 isoform, Shaggy-PB, in different tissues and cells affects lifespan.

The RNA Helicase Belle (DDX3) Non-Autonomously Suppresses Germline Tumorigenesis Via Regulation of a Specific mRNA Set.

DDX3 subfamily DEAD-box RNA helicases are essential developmental regulators of RNA metabolism in eukaryotes. , the single ortholog in is required for fly viability, fertility, and germline stem cell maintenance. Belle is involved both in translational activation and repression of target mRNAs in different tissues; however, direct targets of Belle in the testes are essentially unknown.

Disordered Expression of , the Gene Encoding a Serine-Threonine Protein Kinase GSK3, Affects the Lifespan in a Transcript-, Stage-, and Tissue-Specific Manner.

GSK3 (glycogen synthase kinase 3) is a conserved protein kinase governing numerous regulatory pathways. In , GSK3 is encoded by (), which forms 17 annotated transcripts corresponding to 10 protein isoforms. Our goal was to demonstrate how differential transcription affects lifespan, which GSK3 isoforms are important for the nervous system, and which changes in the nervous system accompany accelerated aging.

Embryonic expression of shuttle craft, a Drosophila gene involved in neuron development, is associated with adult lifespan.

Despite the progress in aging research that highlights the role of the nervous system in longevity, whether genes that control development and consequently structure of the nervous system affect lifespan is unclear. We demonstrated that a mutation inshuttle craft, a gene involved in the nervous system development, increased the lifespan of unmated females and decreased the lifespan of mated females, without affecting males. Precise reversions of the mutation lead to the restoration of the lifespan specific to control females.